From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rule by decree is a style of governance
allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or
group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs,
although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben have argued that it has
been generalized since World War I in all modern states, including
representative democracies.

The expression is also sometimes used as a pejorative and
polemical hyperbole when
describing actions of democratic governments that are perceived to
unduly bypass parliamentarian or popular scrutiny.

Rule by decree allows the
ruler to arbitrarily create law, without approval by a legislative assembly.

When states of emergency such as martial law are in place, rule by decree is
common. While rule by decree is easily susceptible to the whims and
corruption of the person in power, it is also highly efficient: a
law can take weeks or months to pass in a legislature, but can be
created with the stroke of a pen by a leader ruling by decree. This
is what makes it valuable in emergency situations. Thus, it is
allowed by many Constitutions, among which is the French Constitution. U.S.
presidential executive orders share
some similarities with rule by decree.

The Reichstag
Fire Decree of February 28, 1933

The most prominent example in history is the Reichstag Fire Decree. German
President Paul von Hindenburg was convinced
by Adolf Hitler to
issue a decree suspending basic civil rights indefinitely. As a
result of this decree, Nazi
authorities were able to constitutionally suppress or imprison
their opposition, which in turn paved the way for the one-party
rule of the Third Reich. The ensuing state of
exception, which suspended the Constitution without repealing
it, lasted until the end of the Third Reich.

Decrees in democratic
regimes

Some democratic leaders, such as the presidents of Mexico. have the constitutional authority to
issue emergency decrees. The President of France may rule by
decree in national emergencies, subject to constitutional and other legal
limitations, but this power has been used only once.

Giorgio
Agamben's critique of the use of decrees-law

Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben has claimed that there
has been an explosion in the use of various types of decrees
(decree-law, presidential decrees, executive orders, etc.) since World War I. According
to him, this is the sign of a "generalization of the state of
exception".